The company undertook a three-stage review and tender process for the contract which included an employee test-drive panel. Ford beat 10 rival manufacturers, with the new Ford Focus and all-new Ford Mondeo emergig as the top choices.

The company, which has a single-brand fleet of 850 vehicles on an 80,000-mile/four-year life cycle, also evaluated safety, sustainability and whole-life costs in reaching its decision to stay with Ford.

The benchmark cars for the fleet will be the new Focus Estate 1.5 TDCi 120PS and the all-new Mondeo 1.6 TDCi 115PS models, with all cars equipped with satellite navigation, cruise control, parking sensors and Ford’s Active City Stop.

Abigail Swartz, corporate procurement manager, Allianz Insurance, commented: “Safe driving and the reduction of risk is of the utmost importance to Allianz, so it was crucial that our fleet provider was able to meet our benchmark vehicle performance levels. We were very impressed with the range of benefits that Ford was able to offer us, particularly the collision avoidance technology and the fuel-efficient diesel power units.”

Ford account manager Emmet Wrafter added: “It’s great to continue our relationship with Allianz, particularly when they have undertaken such a comprehensive fleet ordering process. Allianz’s staff played an important role in the decision-making process and we are pleased that they recognised the class-leading attributes of the new Focus and the all-new Mondeo.”